We’ve talked before about how humor can be a great way to expand your veterinary practice’s social media marketing strategy, but believe me: there is more than one way to have a little fun!
If memes aren’t quite your cup of tea, then witty quips might be the right fit for you. Using quips and humor can be a great way to show off your practice’s personality, and appeal to your audience online!
There’s just one thing: the wit has to fit your audience. So how can you make sure that your punchlines are getting the laughs you want, and not falling flat in the spotlight?
Play to your audience
The first step is to figure out your audience’s sense of humor. Obviously, this is going to vary depending on a bunch of different factors, including (but not limited to) location, demographics, how long your practice has been around, and even prevalent types of pets!
So how do you figure these factors out?
Use social media analytics
Social media analytics are a big help here. For example, Facebook and Twitter both have analytics offerings. If you go to your Facebook page and click “Insights” along the top, then click where it says “People” on the side menu, you’ll see a breakdown of your Facebook fan base.
This can give you a good idea of your general demographic, as well as where in the world the majority of your fans are from. This, in turn, can help you figure out what types of humor would be most appropriate for the people reading your page!
Twitter’s analytics offering is a little simpler than Facebook’s, but it still gives you a general idea of which types of tweets and which interests resound best with your audience.
Check your patient records
Another great source is your own patient records. You have an idea what types of pets visit your practice the most, and the thing about pet owners is that they love to see their type of pet!
Let’s say you have lots of cat owner clients. If this is the case, a funny picture or quip about a cat is probably going to do much better than the same of a dog. It can also give you a good idea of what types of funny captions to use. Humor is all about playing to the crowd!
Put it in your strategy
The thing about social media is that simply blasting advertising never really works well; it has to be subtle. We always say here at LifeLearn that it’s a good idea to mix your advertising social with your fun social; after all, people spend time on social media because they want to have fun, not so they can read ad after ad after ad.
Your task will be to figure out how you want to achieve this balance. Again, it will depend pretty heavily on your audience. Try experimenting with your scheduling; alternate between fun and business throughout the first week, and then use analytics to see how well each of them did. Then, mix it up the next week, and compare the results. This will give you an idea of best times and amounts for each type of post.
Note: It can be a great idea to use quips and wit for your advertising posts. However, if you find humorous images that you want to use, or even make your own memes, do not use these for your advertising. Using these images without permission can land you in a world of hurt, so it’s best to just say no!
If you make your own humorous images with stock images or CC0 images, that is generally okay. Many stock sites will ask that you put your logo on it, though, to prevent it from circulating excessively all over the web.
There’s nothing quite like a pure-bread Corgi! #NationalPurebredDogDay http://ow.ly/SfAt30bgWcU
Posted by LifeLearn, Inc on Monday, 1 May 2017
Things to avoid
Being overly cheesy
As much as it pains me to say, there is such a thing as too cheesy. If you’re unsure about whether a particular joke toes the line, try it out in conversation a couple of times with some of your regulars, and gauge the reaction.
- Did they chuckle, chortle, smile, or snort? Those are good signs.
- Did they roll their eyes, sigh, or ignore it altogether? Back to the drawing board.
Getting political
Everyone has an opinion, but not everyone appreciates humor about those opinions. When you’re being funny on behalf of your business, it’s best to err on the side of political correctness and keep it clean.
